JW Marriott’s perception is all about the brand promise, feels Jatin Khanna, general manager, JW Marriott Pune
BY Usha
With over two decades in the industry, this Delhiite began his hospitality career with The Meridian Delhi in the front office and finally became a ‘Marriott man’ a decade back. “I always say it is my actual hospitality industry began when I joined Marriott 10 years ago,” says Jatin Khanna, GM, JW Marriott Pune, with a smile. He has been at the helm of the property from before and through its transition, in 2013, as it got rebranded from Marriott to JW Marriott.
With JW being one of the most recognised of Marriott offerings in India, what is it that appeals most to the guests? Khanna feels that JW at Juhu Beach in Mumbai helped in brand positioning – upscale affordable luxury. “In my opinion, it is all about a brand promise, the quality which is coming along with the brand and the standardisation,” he says. With seven operating JWs in the country, there is a uniformity of operations that helps guests travelling from Mussoorie to Pune to know what to expect from this growing upscale luxury brand. With so many brands entering the comp-set, Khanna feels that all the stakeholders, more importantly the associates, need to make sure that JW keeps its position advantage over the others.
Marriott has very robust procedures and processes when opening a property. Citing the example of his own property, he reveals how they had a clear strategy of promoting it not just in Pune but pan-India. “We had a complete strategy behind it to make sure that every area gets ticked and we make a big noise that we are now a JW and how are we different from a Marriott.” Khanna also points out how brand immersion is also an important and expansive process.
Khanna has seen the industry evolve in the last decade, and the change has been for the better he feels. “We have become more accountable. Indian hotel industry was only about service but now is regarded as a business as well.” This, he believes, has come about because the business model has shifted from owned to increased management contracts. The emergence of social media and the digital invasion, too, has changed the way business is conducted.
He is quick to add that the change has also come in the associates and the way they view their work. With more professionalism seeping into the teams, there has been a decided improvement in the work culture – both BOH and FOH. For them, it is very important to feel pride and have a sense of belonging to the property and brand, Khanna shares, “We maintain a difference in the uniforms even within India. Also in brand standards, only the basic are identified. What one wants to do above that is left totally up to the associate and the property. And I think that works well.”
The YOY employee turnover at JW Marriott Pune has seen a drop of about 5-6%. Khanna attributes it to the many associate development programmes and employee initiatives that have been introduced in the last couple of years. “Apart from the accommodation, we realised that our associates like to connect with their families when on a break or in the cafeteria. Hence, we have provided all back office areas, including the cafeteria, with free WI-FI,” he shares, adding that once the personal needs are met, the next important thing is career aspirations. “For which we have a single annual programme – executive and manager development programme that readies them much before their promotion,” he shares. The results have been phenomenal as nearly six years since its opening, the property has managed to retain nearly 20% of its pre-opening team, who have grown with the hotel.
All these initiatives combined with creating experiences for the guests have elevated the profile of the hotel and helped maintain its position for the last five years amongst the top three rank hotels from a guest satisfaction point of view in Asia Pacific. Also, he reveals, that JW Marriott Pune has been on the number two position on TripAdvisor for the last three years.
What has also put the property on the city’s hot list is the Food Truck – a first for Marriott as well. “It is a unique idea which Marriott as a company is also very excited about. We realised that PBC (Pune Baking Company) in the evenings was all about youngsters. But the crowds there were dwindling due to the advent of places like CCD. So a couple of months back, the team came up with the idea of a food truck with street-side food at affordable rates that will appeal to these young kids,” he shares. Though it is open only on weekends in the evening from 5 to 9 PM, it is a buzzing place with about 300-400 covers every day. This initiative amongst the many others has, according to Khanna, helped in the adoption of the hotel by the Puneites as their own. “On an average, we cater more to the nonresident guests – almost 55%, than to the resident guests at the hotel,” he reveals.
Being a convention hotel, MICE is a big draw and makes up about 20% of the overall business for JW Marriott Pune. Though slow, it has recovered after the downturn and both MICE and ARRs have shown an upward trend with a growth of about 8-10%, and he can only see it getting better! “This is a good time for the customers. The ADRs are down, there are far more options and they are empowered. Hotels and hoteliers are evolving, we are learning newer ways of doing business from e-commerce or social media to digital space and how to utilise and optimise that,” he says. A continuing area of concern, however, is the low gender diversity that he wants to increase from 18 to 22% by the year end. Interestingly, the senior leadership of Marriott International from Hong Kong, too, addressed the same issue on their recent visit, trying to understand the challenges faced by the lady work force and looking at empowering them.
Marriott is probably one of those rare brands in last two years which has grown in both parameters, occupancy and ADRs. “Being the biggest inventory hotel brand, we have still been able to grow. I think credit does not rest with any single hotel but to the way Marriott has set up their systems, procedures and processes in India,” he says. A true Marriott man at heart, one can see the culture reflected in not just him but the way he conducts his business as the GM.
